Today has been sort of an up and down day. We were told to expect high winds – a slight understatement. Even the weather service is surprised at what the cold front has done to us as it moves through the area.  We have recorded sustained winds at the house most of the day in the 30 mph range with gusts as high as 50 mph. The weather service recorded 74 mph at their facility just north-east of the downtown area. People in Florida would call that a Category I hurricane. I can’t count the number of times the power has gone out.

To add to the fun a brush fire started about 2 am last night in the southwest part of Reno. Lots of open areas, gullies and hills with homes on them. The latest estimate is 2000 acres affected and 25 homes burned or destroyed. They seem to have it under control but with these winds nothing is certain. Pretty nasty video coming from the local TV stations.

The good news is that I finally got the Swift back in the air earlier in the week. More on that later.

Here are some flying articles that you may have missed this week.

The most decorated Canadian pilot in WWI
This is from the Ottawa Citizen. William Barker flew a Sopwith Snipe in WWI with the Royal Flying Corps. He is credited with 50 enemy kills. He died in the crash of a Fairchild KR-21 that he was demonstrating for the RCAF. The circumstances of his death are still a mystery to historians. Now there is a move to erect a memorial statue to Barker in Ottawa.

The Seattle Boeing Museum and Manufacturing Plant Tour
This is from Vancouver, B.C. The article is a review of the Boeing plant tour and flight museum near Everett, WA. Nice review but not much help unless you’re going to be in the area.

An SR-71 pilot relates some of his flying experiences
This one is from The Observer News in Florida. The Top Secret designation has been at least partially lifted and SR-71 pilots are free to talk of their flying experiences. This presentation was made at the Association of Naval Aviation in Sun City Center.

In case you see a patriotic Cessna Mustang
This is from AOPA. This Cessna Mustang was painted with a patriotic scheme because it is part of the Veteran’s Airlift Command, dedicated to flying our veterans around the country.

I came across this video this week and thought you might be interested. It’s a promotional video by the European firm EADS but has little in the way of a commercial pitch. Lots of historical footage of what appear to be test flights and some very unusual aircraft what we in the U.S. don’t see very often. Enjoy.